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A Vignette to Hair

Today I thought a lot about hair. So many different kinds walk the earth: straight, wavy, curly, frizzy, nappy, silky, course. Mine has a mind of its own, it doesn’t bend to my will, it’s independent, so I stopped fighting it; ALL OF IT. I let it grow where it wants, whenever it wants. Every so often we make an agreement: it’s tired and wiry and I need a break. So I pull out the scissors and together we work to regenerate ourselves, lengthen our roots. Together. We are independently dependent on the other, necessary to the other’s identity. Sometimes people stare, disgust ugly on their faces. I get defensive and defend her. She exists for a reason, I say, so why make her disappear? After a few rounds of defense, I realize I have identified her as HER. She is no longer an “other”, without essence or meaning or value. She has importance, a purpose that I can finally see and she is beautiful. My favorite feature, she completes me. She is me and I am her. There is a gentle coexistence that is wild and free.